Capital One® Platinum Prestige and Citi Simplicity Compared

During your search for the most suitable low-interest credit card, you surely must have come across the Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card and Citi Simplicity. They are two of the popular credit cards that many people will consider when they want to cut down on the interest paid on their credit card balances.

But, which one is truly better for that specific goal? I’ve defined the deciding factors to help you pick the better card.

Card

Capital One® Platinum Prestige

Citi Simplicity

Annual fee

$0

$0

APR

10.9%, 14.9% or 18.9%

12.99%, 17.99% or 21.99%

Intro Offer

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers until November 2015

0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 18 months

Card benefits

No foreign transaction fees and free Credit Tracker tool

No late payment fees, no penalty rate and Citi Rewind price protection program

Annual fee

Lets be honest here, you’re getting a low-interest credit card because you’re expecting to carry a balance and your goal is to minimize interest payments. So, it makes no sense for you to pile on an annual fee — in addition to monthly payments — that will slow down your debt reduction plan.

You’re probably not too surprised though — most low-interest credit cards don’t have any annual fees. No annual fees on both cards means a tie for this category.

WINNER (Annual fee): Tied

Interest rates

Interest rates are what you really care most about in this comparison piece. And yes, you obviously want the lowest rate possible because I’m sure you understand that a minor difference in APRs can result in a major difference in total interest paid.

Here’s a quick example — using the lowest APRs on both cards — to show the potential impact of a slight APR discrepancy:

Card

Capital One Platinum Prestige Credit Card

Citi Simplicity

Card balance

$5,000

$5,000

Monthly payment

$100

$100

APR

10.9%

12.99%

Time until debt cleared

67 months

73 months

Total paid

$6,696 ($1,696 in interest)

$7,238 ($2,238 in interest)

It doesn’t take much to realize that the Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card offers the better deal. The difference in total interest paid would be even greater the longer that you take to pay off the balance (if you have a lower monthly payment or continue to accumulate a balance).

WINNER (Interest rates): Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card

Introductory offers

There’s no denying that you will look at introductory offers as part of your card-selection process. They’re tempting and, with the proper mentality, extremely beneficial when you use introductory offers to speed up your debt reduction plan.

Citi Simplicity: No late payment fees, no penalty rate and Citi Rewind price protection program

Capital One’s benefits are useful for people who expect to use the card abroad and for people who want to build their credit. Meanwhile, Citi Simplicity caters to people who don’t want to get penalized when they forget to make payments (a very bad money habit to have!).

Given that the standout benefits of each card do not directly compete with each, it’s hard to pick out the card that offers the better set of benefits. Furthermore, both cards offer complimentary perks including extended warranties, travel accident insurance and auto rental insurance.

Although the Citi Simplicity card puts up a close fight with its unique perks, the Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card emerges as the better option. After all, you are looking for a low-interest credit card.

The APRs on Citi Simplicity are “simply” too high. In fact, you can easily find a cash back or rewards credit card has the same APR range as Citi Simplicity.

The Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card, on the other hand, displays extreme focus on a low interest rate, which is what you really want when your goal is to minimize interest payments.

Don’t carry a balance because you pay your card statement in full every month? Instead, we strongly recommend a cash back credit card. The APR won’t matter because you’re not going to rack up any interest charges!

Disclaimer: MyBankTracker was not paid to publish this content, which was not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the company whose products are featured. We may be compensated through an advertiser’s affiliate programs.

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